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My father took a step back, putting his palms over his heart feigning he was having a heart attack.
"What is this? When did my little girl grow up?" he announced loudly in horror. There were a couple of other shoppers in the store, and they were watching him, amused.
I couldn't help the giggle that slipped out of me, and my father's grin widened.
"You look beautiful, little bird," he said softly, and I had the strange urge to cry.
After I purchased the pink dress, and Daisy had gotten a shiny silver one that reminded me of a disco ball, we'd eaten dinner in the Italian restaurant that was connected to the mall, and then my father dropped us off at the ferry.
I hugged him hard before he left, like I always did, savoring the sight of him as he walked away, because a part of me always wondered if this was the last time. If one day he'd really just disappear somewhere, never to return again.
He didn't wait to see if we got on the ferry. He just waved goodbye from the truck, a wide grin on his face before he drove off.
And immediately, an edge of melancholy coursed through me.
"Chin up, Sky. At least you have a killer dress," said Daisy cheerfully.
Unlike me, she seemed lighter now that my father was gone. I gave her a fake smile that just made her roll her eyes. And we walked on to the ferry.
The water had been better on the way back, but I still kept inside, wanting to be as far away from it as possible.
"Kyle's here," my mom calls out from down the hall, breaking me out of my thoughts. A rush of anxiety floods through me at the thought of what might lay ahead, and I take a few deep breaths. Daisy’s done my hair in loose curls and given me a pair of sparkly fake diamond earrings. Thanks to her, I’m also wearing more makeup than I usually do. Some blush on my cheeks so I don’t look so pale. Silvery eyeshadow on my lids and some thick mascara. A swipe of bubblegum pink lip gloss.
On the outside, I’m practically a new woman.
On the inside though…I’m still just me.
"Pull yourself together. You can do this,” I whisper to myself as I open the door and head down the hall, only sparing a short glance at Noah’s closed door.
Kyle’s chatting easily with my mother and Curt as I get to the edge of the living room, and he doesn’t notice me standing there.
It gives me one more second to put on a brave face before I walk into the room.
"Oh, honey, you look beautiful," croons my mother a second later.
A blush floods my cheeks at the look on Kyle's face. There’s no denying that he’s slightly dumbstruck at the sight of me.
Shaking his head a little, he strides forward with a small box in his hand.
"Good thing I had my mom help with these. Wouldn’t want anything to ruin the perfection you’ve got going on tonight."
It's a sweet thing to say, even if corny, but to my disappointment butterflies don't assault my insides at his words. He opens the box to reveal a corsage of sweet white flowers with pale pink ribbon wound around them.
"They're beautiful," I say softly as he slips it on my wrist.
"You're beautiful," he responds meaningfully.
I smile at him shyly and then let my mom take what feels like a hundred different pictures of us before she finally lets us go.
Kyle has an old pickup truck that reminds me of my dad's, and he escorts me to the door.
Daisy had left in a rented limousine with a pack of her friends a little while ago, but I'd refused her offer when she asked if we wanted to ride with them. There was no way I wanted to sit around with her friends for that long, forced to make idle chit chat.
It was going to be hard enough conversing with my date all night.
"Excited for tonight?" Kyle asks as he starts the truck and we begin to drive.
"Yeah," I say with fake excitement, praying he can’t see right through me.
